The Time That Follows
by Rodasi H. Stats
Summary: XANA has done it; he's taken over the world. But the Lyoko Gang isn't going down without a fight. Set in a post-apocolyptic time, the heroes must unite and strike, before XANA finds them. Introducing a new Lyoko Warrior: Damon Hawke. Read, and Comment. Chapter Names are open to Change. Sequel planned and started.
1. Prolougue: Finding a New Home

**Prologue: Finding a New Home**

**Damon Hawke**

We all ran through the smoke and dust, trying to get away from the large robotic minions of XANA. He had finally done it; He had taken over the World. He killed most of the Humans, only taking some to be used as slaves. He had attacked at the worst time. The defenses we had set up to monitor Lyoko had bugged up, and Jeremie had been working on fixing them for a few days. Thats when he struck. Knowing that we didn't have any way of tracking his movements. It was as if he had planned things perfectly. Too perfectly.

The robots' metallic footsteps echoed through the city, the only other sounds were the sounds of us running, and the flaming buildings. We had been running for a few hours, and we were exhausted. We needed to find a safe-haven now, or else we wouldn't last long. Me, Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd were doing fine, due to our adventures in the virtual world, we were in good shape. Jeremie wasn't doing so good, and Aelita didn't look much better.

"I...I can't. I can't keep running like this." Jeremie panted as he slowed down and finally stopped. He looked ready to just die. "Come on, Jeremie. This is no time to be complaining. Now either you get your tech-savvy butt moving, or you stay here, and get killed by the big robotic minions that are coming for us! Your choice." I yelled at him.

Aelita gave me a stare, as if she were saying; "Please, Damon. Help him!" I couldn't help but feel bad. Aelita seemed to have that effect on me. Look at me the right way, and I would do anything she wanted.

I rolled my eyes, sighed, and ran over to him. I hoisted him up over my shoulder, and continued on. I ran a bit slower than I had before, due to Jeremie's added weight. He slept almost the entire time I lugged him around.

"Perfect, I'm this guy's personal mobile bed." I mumbled softly as I continued to run. After a few more hours, we had finally lost the robots, and gotten out of the city. We stopped running, and tried to catch our breath again. I set Jeremie down, and nearly collapsed.

Ulrich pulled out a map that he had taken from a news stand on the way out of the city. He opened it up, and looked at it.

"We're about 5 miles out of the next town." He said, and folded the map up. Odd looked at him. "5 Miles? Do you know how long that would take?" I came up behind him, and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Listen, whether its 5 miles or 50 miles, the important thing is that we stay together, alright?" Odd gave an exhausted nod, and shook my hand off. He walked over to a tree, and sat underneath it. Ulrich and Yumi followed, and sat on the other side of it from him. They eventually fell asleep. I looked over at Aelita, who was on her knees. I walked over to her, and saw that she was crying.

"Aelita?" I said worriedly as I knelt down beside her, and put an arm around her. She put her head on my shoulder.

"Aelita, whats wrong?" I asked, and she shook her head.

"Aelita, talk to me. Whats on your mind?" I asked again, and she stopped crying for a minute. She looked up at me, and she still had tears in her eyes. I wiped them away.

"Damon, we've lost everything. The Factory, Lyoko, all of it" She said.

I nodded, and gave a saddened sigh. "Aelita, I know we have. But we're going to find somewhere to live, and start over. The past is the past, lets leave it there." I said, and she almost started to cry again, but I stopped her. "I know that this is hard on you. It's hard on all of us. Lyoko was the only life we had." She nodded.

"But now, we have to push through. We've lived our life with Lyoko, and now, its time to live it without it." She nodded again, but I could tell there was still something else on her mind. I closed my eyes when I found out what is was.

"Your father." I said silently, then she started crying into me again. I held her as she sobbed, and didn't say anything, trying not to emotionally hurt her anymore than she already was.

She stopped after a few minutes, and wiped her eyes. I kept holding her in my arms, and she didn't try to get out of them. She seemed almost..comfortable in them.

"Aelita, go to sleep. You need it. I'll be right here." I said softly, and she shook her head. "Aelita, you'll feel better if you go to sleep. Its late. I'll be right here with you all night." I tried to convince her again, and that seemed to work. She nodded her head, and finally dosed off into a deep sleep.

A few hours had passed, and everyone was asleep except for me. I was the one that watched over the group at night. Especially Aelita. I didn't dare to fall asleep when she was like this. The thoughts of what might happen frightened me enough to make me stay awake. I sat there, Aelita fast asleep on me, and the entire group sleeping as well. The night was silent. The smoke and flames rising out of the city which we escaped from earlier. I felt something was amiss, so I took out a blanket, and rolled it into a ball. I set it on the ground, and put Aelita on it, careful not to wake her up. I grabbed my Souvenier Sword that I had gotten on a trip, and went to look around.

I heard clanking, and went to check it out. When I found the source of the sound, my eyes widened. A giant robot, much bigger than the robots, was heading straight for us. It had 4 legs, and was black. A single light shined out from what appeared to be it's "eye."

XANA had upped his search for us. The behemoth did not know where we were, and judging by the looks of it, it couldn't go far from the Super Computer in the Factory. But if it got to us, things would go from bad, to worse. Quickly.

I ran back to our "camp" and woke the others. I told them of the impending doom we were going to meet if we did not get to the next town soon. We started running when we heard a loud "BOOM!" Thanks to the rest we had, we all ran much faster, and got to the town after about 2 hours. It was completely destroyed. Other than a small Stop-and-Shop place, and a medium sized town house.

The shop was in disarray, but still had tons of food and water there ripe for the picking. And the town house was still moderately untouched. Despite the occasional burn and scorch mark. It still had Power, Water, Plumbing, and all the other utilities that it would normally have. It only had three Bedrooms, though. I snagged one, and shared it with Aelita, Ulrich and Yumi got another, and Jeremie and Odd got the last one. We were pleased with everything.

After getting the house how we liked it, we decided to go look around the town. There was still enough wreckage to live off of. We managed to make a solid wall around the house and store. All the other stuff we found could be re purposed into something new.

Once it was all said and done, we all looked back at our work. While we did, I could tell we were all thinking the exact same thing; We had found a new home.


	2. Chapter 1: Birthday Fit for a Princess

Chapter 1: A Birthday Fit For a Princess

**Damon Hawke**

Several weeks had passed since we had escaped the city, and built our new home. All was normal. The robots hadn't checked here, and their logic was very good; Why go somewhere that has already been destroyed? It was only a matter of time before they either found us, or they presumed us dead, and stopped looking. We were all guessing on the Latter.

We all liked it here. There was no threats, no loud noises, no anything. Just us, in our house, doing what we want to do. Occasionally we would have to venture out to the Stop-and-Shop to get more food. Especially today. It was a special day; Aelita's birthday. We hadn't said anything about it to her, as she had undoubtedly forgotten about it in the recent weeks. But we all knew that it was, and we planned to surprise her.

I was in our room, working on the computer, when Aelita came in. Once she did, she went over to the dresser, and took her shirt off. I looked over at her, then quickly looked away.

"Hey, Prin...Oh, sorry." I stuttered as I blushed. She didn't seem to say anything.

"Damon, its alright. We've been like this for weeks. Months, even. You were bound to see me without my shirt, pants, or anything on eventually." She said sweetly as she walked over to me. I quickly turned my program off just before she could see it, but doing so only made the screen act as a mirror.

I closed my eyes, and Aelita put a hand on my shoulder. The feeling of it made me clench my eyes tighter. I felt her kneel down next to me, her face next to mine.

"Damon, look at me." She said, almost mesmerizing. I quickly shook my head. "You've seen me with no clothes on before. So why are you so shy now?" She asked. And it was true. I had seen her without her clothes on, but that was just for giving her a back massage. And I only saw her back. This just felt...Different and wrong.

"Because I...I only saw your back. And that was to give you a back massage. This is way different." I said embarrassed. I heard her give a small laugh.

"This is only because you think that if you see me, I'll think badly of you, isn't it?" She asked, rubbing my shoulder. I jumped a little. I thought to myself. "_Dang it, she's good. She can read me like a book._" I nodded a tiny bit, but she saw.

"Damon, I really like you. I won't think any different of you if you saw me now, as I would have then." She said, and her voice had a sort of magic to it. It was hypnotic. I struggled to resist, but was losing the battle.

"Look at me." She said, and that finally beat me. I opened my eyes, to find Aelita not in the reflection on my computer screen. I raised an eyebrow.

"Where'd you..." I started to ask, only to be answered by Aelita a second later. "I'm over here." I slowly turned my head to look at her, and she just stood there, one hand on her hip, and the other by her side. She had this smile on her face. Like I was doing the right thing.

"Well?" She said as I looked at her. I swallowed hard, and found myself at a loss for words. I sat there, looking at her. She was amazingly beautiful. She had a flat stomach, something that her hooded jacked didn't portray. I could also see that she had a tan. Though I couldn't be that sure, because I wouldn't even dare to think of looking at her bare breasts.

"I...I...I don't know what..." I stuttered, but she came over, and put her hands on my shoulders. I shivered a bit.

"Damon, calm down. It's alright. I would be nervous if I were you right now too." She said, and gave me a little kiss on the cheek. I trembled when she let go of me.

"Aelita...Please...Please put your shirt back on." I said, still shocked. She smiled at me, then went over and grabbed another shirt. A spaghetti strap. It made me feel a little better now that she was covered. But I was still a little shaken up.

"What were you doing in here anyway?" She asked, looking a bit curious and confused. The question popped me back to normal.

"Working, why?" I said, and she looked like she knew what I was really doing.

"And by 'working' you mean 'playing your computer games' right?" She said with a smirk. I smiled, and looked down. "Yes." She laughed. I laughed a bit too.

"You're so predictable." She said as she rolled her eyes, and she went to the door. I got a text then stopped her.

"Wait! Stay here. Pipe busted. Downstairs is flooded. I'll go fix it." I said as I walked out of the room, and she waited as she was told. I went downstairs to find the group putting the last of the icing on her cake. I then took my Icing pen, and drew all of us, and put "Happy Birthday Aelita" above. I set the candles in it, and went up to get her. I came in, and she asked why my pants weren't wet.

"I rolled them up. Now come on. There's something I'd like you to see." I said as I grabbed her hand, and walked her out of the room, when we got down the stairs, I put my hands over her eyes, and led her to the kitchen. I mouthed out "3, 2, 1, Now!" And I removed my hands, just as the group yelled "HAPPY BIRTHDAY AELITA!"

She was shocked at our efforts. In the time we spent in our bedroom, the group had managed to put up ribbons, streamers, and put on party hats, while Odd had a Clown Nose, and a Party Blower. She looked at me, and I smiled at her.

"Did you plan all this?" She asked me, clenching my hand. I nodded.

"Sure did. From the Cake to the Streamers, to the Balloons." She gave me a tight hug, and the entire group said "Awwwww" when she did.

Odd came up next to us, and squeezed his nose, which made a honking sound. We looked at him, and Aelita laughed when she saw him.

"If the two lovebirds are done loving on each other, we have a party to be at!" He said enthusiastically. We nodded at the exact same time, and she let go of me. I walked over to the cake.

"Alright, go sit down, and the cake will be coming at you shortly." I said as I quickly sliced the cake, put it all on plates and threw them at the table. They all landed in their designated spot before the group sat down. Aelita looked at me in awe, and I licked my fingers.

"Mmmmm. Caramel." I said. I looked at her. She still looked in awe. I looked at her confused.

"Whats up with you?" I asked. I put a piece of cake on a plate, and threw it at the table like one of Yumi's fans. It landed in my spot next to the birthday-girl.

"How did you do that?" She asked, and I just laughed in response.. "You mean you never knew I could do that?" I asked her back. She just shook her head. I nodded back.

"Well, I can." I went and sat down next to her. She took a bite of her cake, and a smile appeared on her face.

"Like it?" Jeremie asked. Aelita nodded at him, and continued to eat her cake. Savoring every bite.

"I thought you might." Jeremie said as he smiled, and ate his piece.

"Yeah, other than computer smarts, cooking is the only other thing Jeremie is good at." I chuckled. I laughed when Jeremie threw a fork at me. Aelita smiled at me, and I could tell that if she didn't have a mouth full of cake, she would have laughed with me.

I smiled back at her, and we continued to eat. After wards, we gave her the presents. She opened the ones from the others first. She got some new outfits, and some Jewelery. I gave her my gift, and she gasped when she saw it. A perfect wax sculpture of herself.

I smiled when she looked over at me. She tried to say something, but could not find the words. I waited for her to gather herself, not rushing her by any means.

"It's alright Princess. You can thank me later if you want." I said, putting a hand on her shoulder. She nodded, and we continued with the party. Night came quickly. Both me and Aelita were in our room, me playing on the computer, and Aelita trying on her outfits, asking me which looks better.

"Princess, you look great in all of them." I stood up and walked over to her. She was about half a foot shorter than I was, and now you could really see it.

"But I..." Her voice trailed off as I approached her. I looked down at her, while she looked up at me.

"Trust me, you look amazing in every single one of them." I said, putting my hands on her shoulders. She smiled a bit, and I smiled at her.

"Really?" She asked. I nodded.

"Absolutely." She threw her dresses on the bed, and hugged me. And I hugged her back.

"Damon, thank you. Thank you so much. That really means a lot to me." She spoke as she laid her head on me.

"That's what I'm here for." I smiled. She smiled back at me.

"I don't know how to say this, Damon. So I'll just come right out with it. I love you." I was shocked at her words.

I thought to myself "_Holy Crap. Is this seriously happening right now? Come on you fool, say something back. Tell her you love her too!_" My mind was racing. I didn't know what to say. I thought for a few seconds, running all the possible responses through my head in an instant. I finally found the words I wanted to say.

"You what?" I asked her surprised. She smiled and nodded.

"You heard me. I love you." She said again. My shocked expression remained where it was.

"I...I don't know what to say." I stuttered. Aelita giggled a bit. Then she put her hands on my shoulders.

"Then how about what to do?" She asked me, her face slowly getting closer to mine.

"I don't know about that Either." I said, my shock disappearing, and being replaced by wonder and curiosity.

"I have an idea. How about you quit talking and kiss me already?" She said, her face now right in front of mine. She smiled a bit, and I smiled back.

"I could do that. And I love you too, Princess" I said, and finally pulled her into a kiss. It lasted about 5 minutes. But little did we know, that a heart-broken Jeremie was watching us through a crack in the door.


	3. Chapter 2: Heart Broken and Alone

**Chapter 2 Heart-Broken and Alone Jeremie Belpois**

I watched the two of them through a small crack in their door. They kissed for 5 whole minutes. I couldn't believe my eyes. Aelita and Damon, in love with each other? It didn't seem right. Aelita liked me, not Damon. I slowly backed away from the door, and ran to my room. I jumped onto my bed, face down.

"Einstein?" Odd asked. I just shook my head. Odd is persistent as all get out though, and he kept poking at it. Trying to get me to tell him whats wrong.

"LEAVE ME ALONE ODD!" I yelled. And he stood there with a shocked expression on his face, he had never seem me this angry and upset.

"Jeremie?" He asked softly. I kept my face in my covers.

"Jeremie, talk to me." He sounded a lot like my father, Micheal. It made me even more upset. I gathered myself, and looked at him

"It's Damon and Aelita." I said. He shrugged.

"Jeremie, they've been living in the same room for 7 weeks. Have you not figured that out?" He asked sarcastically. I shook my head. "No, its not that. Its something else." I replied.

"Then what is it?" He asked. Anxious to learn what it is.

"They're in love with each other." I finally said. He just sat there, and after a while he started to laugh.

"That's what you're freaking out over? But that's nothing! It doesn't matter!" He said between laughs. I went up and smacked him in the head.

"Its not funny! This is serious!" I said, getting angry again. Odd laughed some more.

"Yeah, you're right. We better start preparing for the wedding. HAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed. He then started air-trumpeting "Here comes the Bride" I threw a TV remote at him and he laughed even harder. That's when I heard a knock on the door. Odd got up and answered it.

"Guys? Everything OK?" Damon's familiar voice said. I got up and went past him, really steamed. I went downstairs, and Damon followed me. He put a hand on my shoulder, but I shook it off as soon as he did.

"Jeremie, what's your problem, man?" He asked, and I turned to face him, letting him see my anger. I clenched my fists.

"You're my problem, Damon!" I said back at him, which made him blink in shock. I stood there, trembling in hate.

"What did I do?" He asked. I knew he was playing dumb. He always does when he wants to get out of trouble.

"You know exactly what you did! You Jerk!" I yelled at him. He put his hands up.

"Jeremie, I have absolutely no clue what you're talking about. If there's something I did, I need to know." He said, trying to play the diplomat. I was resisting the urge to sock this guy in the jaw. But the urge was winning.

"You and Aelita. That's what you did." I said. He started to get all defense-like.

"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Are you seriously getting mad at me, for loving Aelita? Are you seriously going there?" He asked, raising his voice.

"Yes, I am. Aelita is _my_ girl. Not yours. So quit flirting with her. Or else." I said. He sarcastically cowered behind his hands

"Ohhh, No! Please don't hurt me! I don't want to be bruised for life with knowledge!" He said as he laughed and stood back up. Once he did, he stopped laughing, and got serious. He clenched his fists. "Why don't you make me?" I raised my fists, and charged at him. In one seem-less move, he side-stepped me, and tossed me to the side.

I got back up and charged at him again. This time, he didn't try and stop me, and when I punched him in his gut. Every one of my fingers popped, and my hand hurt. I pulled it back, and held it. Damon didn't even budge.

"Are you done yet? I'd hate to have to hurt you again, Jeremie." he said, a stern expression on his face.

I charged at him again, and he raised hist fist to nail me in the jaw, but his arm was restrained by someone, and I was held back by another person.

"Both of you, STOP IT!" Aelita and Odd said at the exact same time. I struggled against Odd, while Damon let Aelita hold him back. He lowered his fist, and Aelita let him go. She walked over to me, this sad and disappointed look on her face.

"What were you thinking Jeremie? What is the matter with you?" She asked me. I struggled to free an arm and touch her. To put a hand on her shoulder. Odd let one of my arms go, but Aelita moved just out of my reach.

"What were you trying to prove?" She asked again. Damon came up beside her, and put his arm around her, it made me cringe at the sight.

"To prove that I'm the one for you, not him!" I pointed to Damon, who stood there with his arm around Aelita.

"We're supposed to be together! Not you and Damon!" I yelled, making her back into Damon some more.

"And you wanted to prove this how?" She asked. Looking like she didn't trust me anymore.

"By beating up Damon. I thought that if you saw that I was stronger than him, you'd like me." I said, hanging my head.

"Well you thought wrong. I wouldn't have liked you even if you did win against him. You wanted to use violence to win my affection? How desperate are you?" She said, sounding disgusted. I looked sad, and sympathetic.

"I'm not desperate Aelita. I like you, and I want you to like me back." I said, picking my words carefully. She looked a little surprised.

"You like me? Well Damon _loves_ me Jeremie! LOVES! Its way different than liking someone." She said, and wrapped her arms around Damon.

"Aelita..." I started to say, but she cut me off.

"I don't know you anymore. You're not the same Jeremie I thought you were. And I'm sorry, but I love Damon." She looked sad, and turned to him. "I'll be in our room." She said. He nodded and gave her a kiss on her forehead, which made me wince. She left, and went back upstairs. Damon watched her go, then turned to me.

"I hope you're happy. If you are, then shame on you." He turned and followed her, leaving Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi with me. Odd let me go, and went up to the room, and Ulrich followed him, going to his room. Yumi just looked at me, and mouthed "Why?" I started to answer, but she just shook her head and went back upstairs, leaving me heart-broken and alone.


	4. Chapter 3: Actions Have Consequences

**Chapter 3 Actions have Consequences**

**Ulrich Stern**

Yumi came into the room a few minutes later. I was already ready for bed, and watching some TV, or what was left of it. She seemed sad, and didn't say anything to me as she put her night gown on, and came to bed. She fell asleep quickly, facing away from me. I could tell that she was thinking about what happened with Jeremie. I still couldn't believe it myself, Jeremie going after Damon over something so little as Aelita's love and affection.

"Jeremie has gone overboard, if he's that desperate." I said quietly, but Yumi, being a light sleeper heard me, and woke up again. She looked over at me.

"He has. I can't believe he attacked Damon." She said, sounding sympathetic a little bit. I looked over at her, not knowing that she had awakened.

"I can't believe it either. Even I wouldn't go after Damon the way he did. I mean, not when he was like that." I said, checking the time. It was late.

"Think of what had happened. Aelita, the only girl he had ever liked, and she had liked him back, suddenly just left him for Damon. You can't really blame him, can you?" She asked, propping herself up on one arm. I nodded my head. She looked confused, I explained myself to her.

"Aelita and Damon had been living together in the same room for 7 months. Something sparking between them was inevitable. Jeremie just couldn't accept it. The only thing that led to this whole thing, is Jeremie's jealousy, and his denial." I said, laying back down, Yumi thought about it for a second, then nodded slowly. I looked over at her, and she looked back at me.

"I guess you're right, Ulrich. Jeremie is jealous of Damon, and he just can't accept the truth that Aelita is over him now." She said, looking away from me, and I could tell she was sad. I grabbed her hand, but she pulled it away.

"I'm not in the mood, I'm going to bed." She said, and laid back down to go to sleep. I did the same. We didn't say anything for the rest of the night.

**Damon Hawke**

When I came into the room, Aelita was sitting on the edge of our bed, crying. I went over to her, and put an arm around her. She laid her head on me. I ran my fingers through her hair, doing all I could to calm her down.

"Aelita, its alright Princess. All that is behind us now" I said in a soothing voice. She let up her sobbing a bit. But still kept her face in her hands.

"Damon, I know you're trying to help." She said when she had to get air. "But its hard on me right now. I don't know what to think"

"I know you don't, but you should always know one thing, we're in this together." I said, and she stopped crying for a minute. I looked at her, and smiled. She looked at me. Her face was red, and her emerald green eyes were blood-shot from sobbing.

"Its alright, Aelita." I said again. She nodded, and laid her head on my shoulder for a little while. An hour had passed, and it was almost 11:30. Aelita was half-asleep, but I gently shook her awake, and told her to get ready for bed. We both got ready at the same time, Aelita in our bathroom. We laid in bed, but neither of us could sleep.

Aelita fell asleep on me around 1 in the morning. I dosed off as well, but didn't actually sleep. Dawn came quickly, and Aelita slept in. I let her, as she deserved it. After what happened last night, She must've been exhausted. I gently laid her down on the bed, and went downstairs to get something to eat. Odd and Ulrich were already there, and unfortunately, Jeremie was as well.

Yumi wasn't there, and I could only guess why. I didn't look at Jeremie as I got some Toast, and put a bit of Grape Jelly on it. I munched on the bread, bland as it is.

"So, How'd you guys sleep?" I asked, after swallowing a piece of the Jelly Toast. Jeremie opened hi mouth to answer, but I held a finger up, cutting him off.

"I was talking to Odd and Ulrich" I told him without looking at him. Odd answered first with a "Good" and Ulrich with a "Kinda Good". I nodded, and said the same thing as Ulrich.

Jeremie said something, but we acted like we ignored him. He tried to get out attention, but we still Ignored him.

"Why do you guys hate me now?" He asked, and I turned to him, anger growing inside me. I stared at him, and he looked at me confused. I walked over to him, seeing as I tower over him by at least a foot.

"What you did to Aelita last night." I said in a very plain and stern voice. He looked even more confused.

"What did I do to Aelita? I only attacked you." He said, pointing to me. "That's exactly it. You attacked me. You betrayed Aelita's trust and feelings. That is what you did to her." I said, walking back to where I was before, and Jeremie stuttered as he thought of what to say.

"But I...I didn't mean to!" He finally told me. I looked at him again, giving him a death-stare.

"Actions have consequences Jeremie. The sooner you learn that, the better." I replied to his blank and empty apology. He just looked from me to Ulrich to Odd, trying to find the words for a comeback. I saw a bit of pink hair out of the corner of my eye, and saw Aelita coming down the hall.

Jeremie followed my gaze, and also saw her. He watched her come into the Kitchen and make herself something to eat without saying a word. She seemed distraught, even with me around. Jeremie tried to say something, but she ignored him, and took her breakfast back upstairs. I walked after her, turning when I'm about to go upstairs with her.

"Actions have Consequences. Remember that." I said, and walked up.


	5. Chapter 4: Mending A Broken Heart

**Chapter 4 Mending a Broken Heart**

**Aelita Stones**

I was slowly eating my breakfast when he came in. He called my name, as he could not see me right away. I heard the door shut behind him.

"Lock it." I said, and I heard the familiar, yet silent, "_Click_" of the door locking. Damon came in and sat down next to me. He put a hand on mine, but I shook it off.

"Princess, whats wrong?" He asked, and I didn't say anything. I wasn't ignoring him, I just wasn't in the mood to talk. He asked again, and I shook my head, he seemed to get the picture. That was one of the things I liked about him, he knew when to let something go, and let me talk about it when I want to.

He got up, and went to the Computer. He turned it on, and started playing one of his strategy games. I looked closer at it, and I saw it was a grid of our House and Store, with little defense turrets at points on the wall.

"Whats that for?" I asked, and he told me it was our defense grid. Should the Robots ever find us, the auto-mated Defense system will hold them off. But, we hadn't had any robot encounters in 7 months.

A few hours passed, and Damon was still playing around with the defenses. It was about 2:30, before we got a knock on the door. Damon went to answer it, and I heard Jeremie's familiar voice.

"What do you want, Belpois?" Damon asked, and he was here to see me. I was surprised, since I didn't want anything to do with him after what he did last night. Damon looked at me, and I nodded. Jeremie walked in, and Damon went and sat on his chair, not taking his eye off Jeremie for a millisecond.

"Aelita, I'm sorry for what I did. It was stupid." He said, and I heard Damon mutter "You bet it was" Under his breath. I resisted the urge to giggle.

"Then why did you do it?" I asked him, and he shook his head.

"My jealousy got the better of me. I never wanted to hurt anyone, especially you." He said, moving to put his hand on mine, but I pulled it away.

"Aelita, please." He said, almost begging. I just shook my head. He looked disappointed.

"I forgive you Jeremie, but that doesn't mean I like you again" I said finally. He looked even more disappointed. Damon just sat there and watched, not wanting to interfere. I waited for Jeremie to say something.

"And that's...really how you feel?" He asked. I waited a second, then nodded. He hung his head, and stood up. He sounded like he was about to break down. Damon went and opened the door, letting him go through it.

**Damon Hawke**

I shut the door, and went back to sit with Aelita. This had been so rough on her. I felt absolutely terrible. If it was bad for me, I can't even imagine what she is thinking right now. She just completely let Jeremie have it. I actually felt sorry for him a bit.

"Aelita? You alright?" I asked, putting a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged it off.__I got the feeling that she didn't want to talk about what just happened.. Nobody could blame her either. I tried to poke at it a little, but she was shut tight.

"Damon, I'm not in the mood to talk. Just, leave me alone. Please" She said as she laid back down, and I could see tears welling up in her eyes. She had loved Jeremie, but after what he did, she felt like she couldn't trust him any more.

"Alright. I'm going to go run by the Stop-and-Shop. You want anything?" I asked, but she just shook her head in response. I gave her a quick kiss before I left, and walked out the door. I saw Jeremie in the hall, and brushed by him, bumping into him hard, and nearly making him fall over.  
"Damon, look I..." He started to say, but I cut him off, still somewhat furious at him for what he did to Aelita.

"Shut up, Belpois." I called over my shoulder, and left to go to the store.

**Jeremie Belpois**

I watched him leave to go to the Stop-and-Shop. I was the most hated guy in the group. All because of some stupid jealousy. Was I an idiot? Surely, I had to be. I had lost the girl of my dreams, become public enemy number one, all just to prove a point.

I sighed. I was an idiot. The biggest one in the world right now. I had made a stupid mistake. And lost everything I had built in the process, trust, love, all of it.

"Am I such an idiot, that I jepordize Aelita's love and affection for me, all because of something so stupid as proving who she should love?" I asked myself out loud, and I got a reply from a well-known, pink haired girl.

"I wouldn't say idiot, but you did make a really stupid choice." Aelita said from behind me, and I spun to face her. She looked like she was wanting to talk to me, now that Damon had left.

"And when I say really stupid, I mean _really_ stupid."She said as she leaned against the wall. I just nodded in response, and she looked like I was supposed to.

"Aelita, I know I did. But I only did it because I was the one that brought you to Earth, not him. I was the one that taught you everything about the real world. Not him. I was the one that created an Anti-virus. Not him. I've done everything, and he hasn't."

"That's not entirely true. He helped with my Materialization. And he did help with finding the Anti-virus."  
"But I'm still the one that did everything!"  
"But he's the one that actually spent time with me, and didn't stay glued to a computer."

I was completely caught off-guard. He was right. I had spent too much time on the computer. That was what really lost Aelita. Not my antics. They had just given her more of a reason to hate me. But if she hated me, why was she talking to me?

There was a simple truth: She didn't. I jumped with glee inside. Happy that I hadn't completely lost her to Hawke.

"Don't get your hopes up. I'm still in love with Damon. Not you." She said, as if she knew what I was thinking

"_Epic rejection and happiness fail._" I thought to myself. I tried not to show my disappointment, but Aelita must've noticed it.

"That doesn't mean that there's no chance now." She said with a smirk.

I perked up just a bit, and looked at her. Seeing the slight smile she had on her face.

"You just have to earn it again. And trust me, It's going to be hard."

"How hard?"

"Extremely. It's going to take you a while to do it." She said, and walked back upstairs. I had a feeling that her broken heart was somehow mended. But I couldn't help but think that somehow, I did it.


	6. Chapter 5: The Hardest Decision To Make

**Chapter 5: The Hardest Decision Made**

**Damon Hawke**

Several years had passed, we were all past 18. Me being the oldest at 24. Jeremie clocking in Second at 22. Aelita at 21, turning 22 soon. Ulrich and Yumi came in with Jeremie, and Odd being Aelita's age.

Hard to believe that we've been like this for at least 8 or 9 years. We had restored the City, and gotten more survivors, we were on our way to re-populating the Earth, but XANA was still a threat. He would never let up finish our goal. His forces weren't anywhere near here. Apparentely he was setting up base far away from here. Gathering his army, he knew that someone would launch a counter attack on him.

He just never thought it would be the 6 Teenagers that had fought him for over 2 years back on Lyoko.

Things have gone great. Jeremie had finally won back our trust, and me and him were back at each others necks over the Pink-Haired Princess for which we both had strong Feelings for.

Ulrich and Yumi had inevitably gotten together and got married. Odd's old girlfriend, Sam, was remarkably still alive, and much to his pleasure, they got married. That only left me, Jeremie, and Aelita. We both wanted her, but I think she just found it fun to watch us try and kill each other over her. Typical girls.

Our bustling community had a rather large population of about 750 people, and rising. The 6 of us were in charge of it, and the new city prospered under us. Everyone was happy, the food supplies were booming, and life just couldn't generally get better.

We walked about our new home, Which we had decided to call "Spree", taking in all our success. We couldn't believe that we had done all this. And we knew that if we could do this good with one small town, imagine how we could do with the world.

But XANA would have to be destroyed for that. And we were dreading the final confrontation with him. We knew that it would be extremely difficult, and we weren't going to rush it. But as each day passes, he gets stronger, and even harder to get to. Much less to kill.

We had to do something quick, but we just weren't ready. We needed weapons, training, armor, everything that you normally hear in the whole "Humanity's Last Stand" type of stories.

We had drifted apart as time ticks by, still friends, but not the kind of "Brother and Sisterhood" that we had when we were with Lyoko. We all had our own lives to live. We couldn't just stay together forever. We had to go our separate ways at some point.

Ulrich, Yumi, Odd, and Sam had moved out of the house we were living in, just leaving it to me, Aelita and Jeremie. I had a feeling that it would soon be just their house soon, as Jeremie was steady winning the battle between me and him, much to my displeasure.

I was wanting Aelita, but I was willing to respect her decision if she chose Jeremie. While Jeremie was wanting her, and just...wanting her. I had a feeling that my good and kind nature would soon leave me with no one.

I was in the middle of thinking of the consequences of her decision if she chose Jeremie, when a hand and a familiar voice brought me back to reality.

"Hawke? You alright?" Aelita's voice said to me. It had gotten more melodic as she grew and matured. While Jeremie's and mine had just gotten a bit deeper.

"Yeah, just thinking of something." I replied, turning my head to look at her. She had gotten significantly taller, and her hair had gotten darker, almost a dark Magenta-shade of pink. Not the Vibrant shade she had years ago. It was amazing that the sweet and charming young girl that me and Jeremie had brought to this world was now this dazzling woman that attracted the eyes of every single guy in Spree.

She just nodded and went back to flirting with Jeremie and I went back to thinking of the results of her decision. I had it set in my mind that she would choose Jeremie. There was no doubt about it. I was now stuck, and alone.

I had a friend get me a place to stay, a nice loft on the top of a nice hotel should Jeremie be chosen. And it looks like I'm going to be needing it. Life is cruel.

We finished our walk, and we all went back to our seperate places. I was in my room, playing on the computer when Aelita knocked on my door, wanting to talk to me. I knew that this was it. I was going to be out-picked by Jeremie. I braced myself.

"Come in" I said as cheery as I could. She and Jeremie entered. Aelita seemed somewhat sad, while Jeremie was cheery, and that definitely put the fact in my head that she had chosen him. I braced myself even more.

"What's up?" I asked, pausing my game. I looked over at her, trying to look cheery and up-beat, like I don't know what she actually wants, and I seemed to be doing a good job.

"Jeremie, please go." Aelita said to him, and he initially refused, but in the end left us alone.

"What's wrong, Princess?"

"I just made the hardest decision ever."

"What decision?"

"Between you and Jeremie."

I got a hopeful look on my face, but prepared for the worst, knowing it would come soon.

"And?" I said, sounding a bit worried, and she only held up her fingers in response.

"What am I supposed to see?" I asked, then saw a ring with a diamond in it. And I knew it could only be one thing, An Engagement Ring. I didn't look that surprised, trying to hide my complete disappointment, and the great sadness that was overtaking me.

I took her hand and looked at it.

"Wow. Where'd you get this? It's beautiful. It definitely matches the person wearing it." I said, and she barely smiled.

"Aelita, what's wrong?" And she put her fingers on the ring as if to take it off, as if to reconsider her decision, but she left it on her finger and I knew it was all over. I was done. Out. Beaten by a computer whiz who has never had a girlfriend before.

"I'm sorry, Damon." She said, and I looked at her confused.

"Sorry for what? What did you do?" She just looked at me until I finally showed that I knew what she meant.

"Aelita...you didn't." I said, gasping, and looking her in the eye, she only nodded, and held back tears. I then closed my eyes, and looked down, taking in the truth.

"Damon...I'm really sorry. I wanted to choose you, really I did, but Jeremie was just the right one for me." She said through her semi-sobbed breaths. I pulled out a much more glamorous and elegant engagement ring that I was saving for if Aelita chose me, and she nearly lost it at the sight of the Sapphire it held.

"Damon, is that really a..." She started, and I finished the sentence.

"Sapphire? Yes, it is. It was my Mother's. And I had it put into a ring. It was supposed to be your engagement ring, but I see that Jeremie already gave you his." I said, putting the ring away, and she put her fingers on her ring again, obviously debating whether or not to reconsider her decision. After she let go of it, I lowered my head.

"Aelita, I wanted you and I to be together forever. I wanted all our dreams to come true. I wanted what was best, for both of us. I will always love you more than Jeremie ever could. And I still do now." I said, and she was obviously fighting really hard to keep from crying.

"I'm sorry, Damon. I really am. But, Jeremie and I are getting married. I know that must be extremely hard and sad for you to hear." She said, and I looked up at her.

"I'm happy if you're happy. If you want to marry Jeremie, then marry Jeremie, I won't stop you." I said, a slight smile on my face.

"Damon, I want you to be happy, and I want us to be together more than anything in the world, but Jeremie needs and wants me. And, I have to be there for him" She said, a tear escaping her eye. I lowered my head.

"And that's...really what you want?" She just nodded, tears coming down her face. I then got up, and went to get my already packed suitcase. I shut the laptop, and put it in with the rest of my things.

I started to walk towards the door, and when I opened it, I say Jeremie, with a sad look on his face. I put a hand on his shoulder as I passed him.

"Jeremie, promise me something. Promise me you'll take good care of her. Please. I'm asking you to not let anything happen to her." I said, and he nodded before giving me a brotherly hug

"Good-Bye, Hawke. Again, I'm sorry." He said, and I walked out the front door, Aelita came and walked me to it, opening it for me. I looked at her before I left for the last time.

"Aelita, please don't send me away. I love you. With every fiber of my being." I said, and the tears were now streaming down her face. I wiped them with my sleeve, and she looked at me.

"I have to Damon. As much as I hate to." She said, and gave me a tight hug, like this was the last time we'd ever be able to, and she was right. I hugged her back, a tear escaping from my eye.

"Where will you go, Hawke?" Jeremie asked, leaning on the wall, obviously sad for me and Aelita.

"I have a place that a friend got me. I'll be staying there." I toss him a little metal cylander.

"The address and everything is on that." Aelita broke away from me. Tears now streaming down her face again.

"I'll be sure to visit you often, alright?"She asked, and I looked at Jeremie, thinking that he wouldn't take to kindly to me seeing his soon-to-be wife all the time. He nodded, like he could give me at least that much.

"Alright, Princess." I give her a kiss. "I love you." I start out the door, and Aelita follows me. When I reach the gate leading from the yard to the rest of the city, I stop.

"Good-bye Princess. Be safe." I said.

"I will"

"I want you to promise me."

"I promise you, Damon Hawke, that I will be careful, and safe." We hugged again, before I walk out the gate and leave the house, for a long, long time.


	7. Chapter 6: A Day For Celebration

**Chapter 6: A Day For Celebration**

**Jeremie Belpois**

The day was finally here; me and Aelita were going to get married. I was as excited and as terrified as I had ever been in my life. This was a huge leap of faith, for both of us, and I couldn't help but feel sorry for Damon. I know how much he wanted and loved Aelita, but she chose me. And as happy for her as he seemed to be, I could tell he was asking "Why, Aelita?" inside himself.

The clocked ticked as Aelita got ready to come down the Aisle, and Hawke got ready to give away the only girl he had ever truly loved. He must be as depressed as all get out, and nobody could blame him.

The music had started before I even noticed, I was lost in thought, and the only thing that brought me back to reality, was Aelita, in a stark-white wedding dress, her arm hitched around Damon's and he was suppressing a smile, even though it was obvious he didn't want to be here. The only reason he came was because of her. God, I felt sorry for him.

When she got up beside me, and Damon let her go, the Pastor started.

"Dearly beloved, we are here to witness these two in the bonds of Holy Matromony. The couple has written their own vows, which they will now recite." He said, and I pulled out a small piece of paper, and read mine. Aelita smiled, and looked like she had tears of happiness, and then she read her own, I saw Damon over in the back, doing all he could to keep himself together.

"Aelita Stones, do you take Jeremie Belpois to by your Husband, to always be at his side at life, death, and all in between?" The pastor asked, and Aelita nodded.

"I do"

"Jeremie Belpois, do you take Aelita Stones to be your wife, to be at her side at life, death, and everything in between?" He asked me, and I said the two words before he even finished.

"Then I now pronounce you Husband and Wife. You may kiss the Bride." He said, and backed up, allowing me to lift the small white veil that covered Aelita's face, and give her one of the most passionate kisses she had ever received. When we broke away, and I opened my eyes, I saw Hawke leave. That was the one thing that pushed him over the edge. Aelita saw it too, and waited to go and find him until the ceremony was complete, which w:as only about 10 minutes away.

As soon as we were finished, and everyone was headed to Hawke's loft that he kindly gave us to use for the after party, we both went to find him. He was up on the roof, sitting on the edge like he always did when he was depressed.

"Hawke, you alright man?" I said as I went up to him, and he turned to us.

"Hey, it's the newly-weds. Congratulations, guys." He smiled a bit, but I could tell he was hysterical inside.

"Damon, are you truly happy?" Aelita asked him, and he thought about it for a minute.

"Well, truthfully, not really. I wanted you, but Jeremie ended up winning that battle. And I'm happy for him, and you. As long as you are satisfied, I'm satisfied." He said, then turned away.

"Damon, I'm sorry. But this is a day for celebration. It's not time to sit around and sulk, it's time to come back down and have some fun." I said to him, and Aelita went and grabbed his arm, and pulled him up.

"You two go and have fun. I prefer to stay up here, by myself." He said but Aelita just shook her head, her stubbornness is at it again.

"No, you're coming down and having a good time even if I have to drag you there myself, Damon." She said, sternness in her voice, and that made Damon hold his hands up in surrender. He had never liked to make Aelita unhappy, she was as fierce and violent as a Tiger when she was. We had both learned that the hard way.

-Flashback-

"_Hawke, I'm not going to argue with you. You can't stay mad at me forever." I said, fist clenched in case I should have to defend myself, as if it would do any good._

_ "And I'm telling you that I can! What you did to me and Aelita was unforgivable Jeremie. Aelita may have told you she forgave you just to shut you up!" He yelled back, we were outside, and it was a nice summer day. He also had his fists clenched, looking like he was ready to murder me if I said the wrong thing._

_ "Look, man, I'm sorry. You can accept or deny that all you want, but I'm going to spend some time with Aelita." I said, and started going towards the house. But he put an arm in front of me, and stopped me._

_ "Over my dead body. I'm not going to let you hurt her again, __Belpois." He said, and I raised my fists, if this guy wanted a fight, I was going to give him one._

_ "I can happily arrange that." I said, a smirk on my face._

_ "Belpois, shut up. We all know you can't do Jack to me." He said as a response._

_ "Why don't you make me, Hawke?"_

_ "I don't make Monkeys, I train them." He retorted and I threw the first punch. I had gotten considerably stronger, and we fist-fought for a good 10 minutes before Aelita came and pried us apart._

_ "Both of you, STOP IT!" She yelled at us, and we immediately froze. She came up and slapped me across the face, hard._

_ "Jeremie, you quit trying to beat Damon up." She growled, and Hawke laughed._

_ "And as for you, Damon," She went up and slapped him a little harder than he did with me._

_ "You quit antagonizing everyone." She said, and he opened his __mouth to say something, but she cut him off._

_ "I'm tired of both of you going at it like that. KNOCK IT OFF!" She yelled again, and then stomped off, me and Damon just looked at each other._

_ "Holy, crap. Is that what Aelita is like when she's mad?" He asked, never seeing her more than a bit ticked off, this was full blown furious._

_ "Yeah. You don't want to keep her like that." I responded. And he offered his hand to mine, and I shook it._

_ "Truce, man. For Aelita's emotions, and for our physical health." He said, and I laughed in response._

_ "Truce."_

-End Flashback-

That was several years ago, and Aelita had long since gotten over that.

"Fine, I'm coming" He said, and we walked back to the Elevator, Aelita following Damon so she could grab him should he try and make a run for it. He didn't. We went down to his loft, to find everyone having a good time. He had laid out refreshment, he had set up profiles on his Game Console so that the Geeks could play, he had a DJ booth set up, he went all out. I was impressed.

"Now, let's go and have fun." I said, and we all went and enjoyed ourselves, Damon monitering the games, considering he was very protective of his Electronic Items, while the rest of us danced and did whatever. After a minute, he went up to the DJ booth, and he stopped the music. His mood had lightened up, much to Aelita's happiness.

"Yo, party people, shut up and listen. I do think this is the time where the newly wed couple have their first dance together. So get out of the way and let them" He motioned us to the floor and we took it, and he put on one of our favorite love songs, "Suddenly" by Billy Ocean. The song started playing and we danced, a couple of others dancing along to the music. It was endless pleasure, and all thanks to him. He had set all this up, and he was the one that was OK with letting me marry Aelita, where I would've broke down on the spot.

"Thank you, Hawke." I mouthed out to him, and he just smiled and kept playing the music.


	8. Chapter 7: The Couple's Present

**Chapter 7: The Couple's Present**

**Damon Hawke**

The new couple danced the night away, and things got hazy around 1 AM. All I remember is waking up on my DJ Booth, and there being a whole bunch of passed out party goers in my loft. We must've had fun last night. I woke them all up, except for Aelita and Jeremie, who were in my room, laying on my bed under the covers for some reason that I probably don't want to know, and told them all to get out. I then cleaned up the rather small mess that the party had made, normally they leave it like a freaking Zoo.

I went to go wake up Aelita and Jeremie, and tell them that it was time to go home, and when I went and shook Aelita awake, she moved just right to make the covers fall off of her, to reveal that she had no clothes on.

"Whoa. Yikes." That snapped her awake, and she wondered what I was doing in their room, I motioned down to her body, and she saw that she was naked. She quickly covered herself.

"Damon, what are you doing in our house?" She asked, and I held my hands up in surrender again.

"Hey, you're the one who's naked in _my _house. What the heck did you two do last night?" I asked again, and she looked around, seeing that I was right, then she turned back to me.

"And where are your clothes?" I asked her again, and she just looked at me.

"What me and Jeremie did last night is none of your concern. And I think my clothes are scattered among the room."

"Well, then. Will you at least tell me if I need to change my sheets?" I asked as I found her clothes and tossed them to her.

"We didn't do what you think. And we could do that even if we wanted to. We are married now, right?" She asked, and I nodded my head.

"So you two didn't do anything explicit, or anything that could possibly contaminate my sheets?" She shook her head. That made me feel so much more relieved.

Jeremie woke up and saw Aelita getting dressed, while I was cleaning up the room.

"Damon, what the heck?" He said as he jumped up, luckily he still had his clothes on.

"Yo man, you're in my house. Don't go yelling at me." I said, and he looked around.

"Oh, yeah. We are. Sorry dude."

"Since when did you become so nice and apologetic to me?" I asked him, and he shrugged.

"You're like a brother to me now, Damon. A strange kind of brother that is taller and looks nothing like me. Brothers are nice to each other." He said, with a slight half-smile.

"Thanks man, that means a lot to me." I said, and gave him a fist-pound.

"Alright, Lovebirds. Get dressed. I have a surprise for you." I said, and then I left. They followed me shortly after. Wondering what I had for them as I made a large breakfast for the three of us. As I laid it on the table, I gave them each a plate with a large breakfast platter. They ate it all, and then say an envelope covered with a plastic film. They tore them open, and looked at it's contents.

"Damon, you didn't really!" They both said in unison. I smiled, and put my hands behind my head.

"Sure did. All expenses paid. A few years ago, I sent some guys out, and they cleared a small island not far out from the coast. I thought that it would be a great Honeymoon spot. Your own private Island for a full week." I said, then laughed. Aelita got up and almost choked me to death.

"Thank you." She said, then looked at Jeremie, who already knew her intention, and he nodded. She then proceeded to plant a long kiss on my lips. When she pulled away, I was dumbfounded.

After a minute, I came back to reality, and threw my arms up in victory.

"Yes! Hahahahaha." I laughed, and Aelita went over to Jeremie, and they started towards the door. I went and opened it for them, and they left. I shut the door, and thought of how good of a friend I am.


	9. Chapter 8: A Good Day Gone Bad

**Chapter 8: A Good Day Gone Bad**

**Jeremie Belpois**

We had gotten back from the Island that Damon had set us up with. He was a great friend, willing to do everything to make us happy, and he never asked for anything in return. We had to give him something, it would only seem right. He just does things for us, yet we never do anything for him.

"We have to do something to repay Damon for all that he's done for us, Jeremie." Aelita said as we walked back into our house. Everything was just as we left it. Not a thing out of place.

"But what can we do?" I asked, and that made Aelita think for a second.

"Good question, but we have to do something. Having him do everything he does, and not doing anything back is starting to make me feel selfish." She said, sitting down on the couch to contemplate what boon they were going to give him.

"He's done all that we can think of. He's taught everyone in the city how to fight for the confrontation with XANA, he's given us personal training, each. He's even done something so little as re-decorating our house for us." I said, sitting next to her. We both thought of what reward suited Damon. We just couldn't think of anything. Damon was never one to ask for a reward, and we soon heard a knock at the door.

I answered it, and it was the big guy himself. He waved hello, then asked if he could come in, I gestured him into the house, and he walked in, going to sit in a chair next to couch where me and Aelita were.

"So, how was the Honeymoon?" He asked with a grin.

"Perfect. Thanks for the trip." Aelita said, and indeed, it had been perfect.

"Listen, Damon. We know how much you've done for all of us, and we want to give you something in return. If there is anything you want, at all, we'll try and make it happen." I said, and he suddenly got serious.

"I don't want you all to bother yourselves with giving me a reward. All I want is for you two to be happy. That's more than enough for me." He said, and I could tell Aelita felt even guiltier. This guy was a true saint. Doing all, asking for none. He was a great example of what a true perfect person is.

"Damon, we have to give you something." She said again, but he got up, and put a hand on her shoulder.

"I don't want you to trouble yourselves with this. I don't want a reward. I do it to make you happy. That's enough for me." He said, looking her in the eye, then shifting his gaze over to me.

"Are you sure, man?" I asked, and he nodded. He got up, and walked towards the door.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I really must be leaving I have somewhere to be." He said, and left. Aelita looked on the verge of tears, but she held them back strong. I could tell she felt bad. I didn't blame her.

"Aelita, it's alright. We'll give him something no matter what he says." I told her, and she nodded.

A few hours later, we heard a crash, and what sounded like metal walking, but we had dismissed it as someone camping out, watching a movie.

Damon came running when all sound stopped. He looked exhausted, like he had just been in a fight.

"Get your weapons. We strike back now." He said, and then went to grab the matching swords he had made for us.

"Why? What's going on?" I asked, he just looked at me in response, and I knew what had happened. The Robots of XANA had found us. We grabbed our weapons and followed him to the town square, where the population had risen to at least over a thousand.

We all looked at him as he took the platform set up, as if this was where the end was starting. He started a pep talk, as he walked side to side on the platform, and I noticed that almost everyone had a sword, and maybe even a shield. For the 21st Century, we were still fighting with Metal Weapons, but it was the best we could, since we couldn't find or master the technique for making guns

"The time to strike is now. XANA has found us, and he will soon send his armies our way, but if we can catch him now, he will be off guard. We shall fight for the freedom of Humanity!" He went on, getting everyone's spirits up. When he was done, he pointed in the direction of XANA's base, which couldn't be far, and we all headed out.


	10. Chapter 9: The Fight For Humanity

**Chapter 9: The Fight For Humanity **

**Damon Hawke**

We reached the base of our sworn enemy, and we all knew that some of us wouldn't make it. But, everyone was OK with dieing for Humanity. Their Spirits do them kindly.

I gave the order, and we charged, taking XANA's minions completely by surprise, we took down a good 20 of them in a row before they counter attacked, taking down a line of our troops.

We kept fighting, all of us taking down Robot after Robot, us Lyoko Warriors staying together, and acting as a single being. We were unstoppable. It was great.

After an hour or two of continuous fighting. We had secured the front gates, and now started proceeding into the base, Jeremie advising me that it should only be me, and about 3 others.

I of course picked Jeremie and Aelita to come with me. They were there in the beginning, only fair that they be there in the end. I looked upon the others in the group, and decided to take Ulrich, our samurai. Yumi told me to be careful with him, and I gave her my word that I would.

The 4 of us started off, taking down Robot after another, carving our way through the thick lines of them. We slashed, we bashed, and we mashed, until each Bot around us was dead. Then, we rinsed and repeated for each area of the base, eventually securing the Armory, where XANA outfitted his Mechanical Maniacs with High-tech weaponry. The others took something, but I remained with my trusty sword.

The others made their way in behind us, securing each part of the base as we cleared it, so no re-enforcements would follow us to our main objective. After moving through half of the base, we saw something that made all of our faces go cold. About 3 Large Behemoths, like the one I saw when we were running for the first time. He looked big, but now I realized that they were huge.

"How are we going to get out of this one?" Ulrich Asked, and I shrugged. I had no idea on how to take down a 100 foot tall Tripod walker! Let alone three of them. We had to be getting close with all these guard dogs, or Robots, around. We could only guess that XANA's Lair lay just beyond them. This was the only thing stopping us from ending this. Once and for all.

We ran and I jumped out of the way just as a leg came down where I was standing. It would have crushed me like I was an Ant. This was going to be more difficult than we anticipated.

I got a glimpse of something. It looked like a Maintenance Hatch. If I could get to it, I could go and kill this thing from the inside. The only question is, How?

I jumped out of the way of a leg again, and tried to jump onto the hatch, but missed barely. A leg came down for another time, and I got a hold on it, but I fell off when I was only about 3 feet from the ground. That thing wasn't meant to be climbed into when it was moving. I had to do it in steps. There was no way I'd get in it on the first go around. I had to unlock the hatch, Open the hatch, and then crawl inside and have some fun.

That's exactly what I did, as the next leg came down, I got out of the way, and turned the key of the hatch in the process. Now for Phase 2.

On the next try, I managed to pull the key enough to where the Hatch came loose, and it swung open as the leg came up, and stomped down for the last time in this things life. I hopped in, and started climbing the ladder to the control Matrix. After I got there. I just started stabbing at different pieces of equipment, I could see out of the eye, and saw that I had hit the leg control I now moved this thing. Oh, this was going to be fun, indeed.

Seeing as this one was away from the other two, I moved it over, and made it trip up one of the others, which in turn fell and toppled the next one. Now that the other two Tripod Walkers were gone and blown up, I could now do away with this one. I took out a rod, and jabbed it into the brain, causing the familiar light to glow from it, indicating that this thing was going to blow soon. I slid down the ladder, and ran for my life as the clock quickly ticked down.

5 seconds...I ran for the cover.

4 seconds...I get to the cover.

3 seconds...I vault over the cover.

2 seconds...I crouch down in the cover.

1 second...I brace for the big boom.

The thing the started leaking with light in some places, before finally making the loudest, and most unearthly noise you can imagine, before blowing itself to smithereens.

"Nice job, Hawke." Jeremie said when the hail of Metal and wires stopped.

"It was extremely fun wrecking everything inside the giant robot walker's head. I wish I could do it again." I said, sighing a bit.

"Later. For now, we have a job to finish." Jeremie told me in reply. And we all nodded in agreement. We then headed for XANA's Palace.

When we walked in, we saw nothing but wires, and a figure at the end of the room.

"XANA. We meet at last." I said, and the figure turned. He laughed.

"Very good Hawke. It seems that you are stronger than I realized. Perhaps it was a mistake to let you live among these humans." He said in a menacing growl.

"I'm Human, and that's all I'll ever be. I won't become your slave XANA. And I won't let you keep imprisoning people." I yelled back, and he chuckled again.

"Well then, It seems I have to kill you now. Shall I do quick and painless, or shall I do slow and painful?"

"I vote for a stay of execution." I charged at him, and he turned into a demon-like thing. He looked kind of like the Kollosus, only way smaller. We battled it out, all 4 of us on him, and we eventually got the better of him, and in the process, damaging the main reactor of the facility.

The place had less than a minute before it blew. The only way to post-pone the inevitable destruction, was to complete the circuit, driving power back into the reactor, and therefore, making it stable for a short time. Just long enough for the others to escape. The only thing that could possibly complete it was a piece of metal, and since I was the only one with a sword, it looks like I was going to be the one doing it. God, life sucks.

"Guys, listen. I can post-pone the destruction long enough for you to get out. Go. Now." I said, and the rest turned to leave, but Aelita stayed right where she was.

"I'm not leaving you Damon." She said. And gripped my arm.

"Where you go, I go." She told me, and I almost started crying, the only thing that stopped me, was the alarm blaring.

"Aelita, go! Now!" I told her, but still she refused to budge. She shook her head, tears in her eyes.

"Now without you!" She said over the alarm's loud whine. Jeremie and Ulrich came over. And she knew what they planned to do. She then jumped on me, hugging me tight, never wanting to let go.

"Damon, I'm not going without you!" She cried, and I pushed her off me gently.

"You have to! Otherwise we're all going to die!" I said, and she looked me in the eye.

"I'd rather die with you than to lose you" She said, then she came and kissed me. Precious second that we couldn't afford to lose were ticking by. I had to end this. Now.

Jeremie and Ulrich pulled her off, and started dragging her away, making her kick and scream in disagreement.

"I love you, Princess. Now go. And live. For me." I said, as I turned back, and started walking to the reactor.

"DAMON NO! PLEASE! DON'T!" I heard Aelita yell, and I raised my sword above my head, then looked at her. She was still kicking and screaming against the two guys dragging her away from me. I mouth "Good-bye, Princess." And then I plunged the sword down.

**Jeremie Belpois**

We were about 50 feet from the base, when it exploded, and Aelita immediately stopped her struggling, and looked at it with awe.

We let her go, and she immediately fell on her knees, buried her face in her hands, and started crying her eyes out. I walked over to her, and put a hand on her shoulder. She shook it off though.

"Aelita, listen. He sacrifised himself to save us. We can't mourn his death forever." I said but she looked over at me, a fire burning in her eyes.

"Maybe you can't Jeremie. But I can. I loved him. More than you will ever know." She said, as she took her ring of and threw it on the ground. She got up, and ran off, in the direction of the city.

"Jeremie, come on man. You know Aelita loved him." Ulrich said to me, his arms crossed.

"But we can't mourn him forever. We have to get back with life sometime." I replied, and Ulrich just shook his head.

"Jeremie, give Aelita time. It's going to take her a while." He said, and I nodded, and we all started heading back to the city for the victory celebration and the funeral.


	11. Epilogue: The Time That Follows

**Epilogue: The Time That Follows**

**Aelita Stones**

A week had gone by since our victory, and I still hadn't gotten over Damon's sacrifice. Every day, I'd go out to the statue that they has erected of him, A silver model of him, his hands behind his back, and his famous mouth-to-one-side grin on his face.

Jeremie had told me that it was OK for me to take as much time as I needed, and I was going to.

While I was walking back home, a person who had been securing Damon's personal effects from his loft, found me and gave me a tape. It apparently his Will. Only to be seen by me, and the he had another one for the entire group to see.

I took it, and went home. I told Jeremie I was going to watch something, and I locked myself in my room, and put the tape in. Damon came on the screen. He was in the same pose as the statue. The same grin on his face, it made me smile to see him again.

"Hello there, Princess. If you are watching this, it means that we have won the battle, but it also means I am not there with you anymore. So there are a few things I want you to have. The first, is my loft. I give this to you for whatever use you may have of it. The second, is a diamond, that had been passed on from Generation, to Generation. You will find this in my bed room, under the bed, in a locked box. The combination is 235482. And then there is one more thing. Inside the wax sculpture I gave you for your birthday, many years ago, if you twist it, it opens up. There is something in there that I think you'll want. I love you Princess, and Good-bye" His image disappeared. And I went and got the wax sculpture, and twisted it open. There was a rolled up piece of paper inside. I took it out, and saw that it was a picture of him, and a note that said "I shall always be with you, through anything and everything. ~Damon" I clutched them in my hand.

I then went to the loft. And had moved in, Jeremie staying at the house for now. It felt good to be in something that belonged to the man of my dreams. I then went and retrieved the Diamond, and saw that it was a Sapphire, a little portion of it cut out. The part that was in the Engagement Ring.

"Damon..." I started to say, but got choked up in tears. Jeremie came over, and comforted me. It felt good to be in his arms, and he did all he could to help me feel better.

The time that follows was full of grief for Damon's sacrifice, yet happiness and joy when my good friends cheered me up with a visit now and again. As the World started to become re-populated again, the memory of how we got to where we are now started to fade from people's minds. We were able to move back into the city, and on the day that we were going back to Kadic, I visited the Statue one last time. As I looked up at it, I said to myself.

"Rest In Peace, Damon. And thank you. For everything."

**The End**


End file.
